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Graf Spee
The Graf Spee was Germany's largest warship until the commissioning of the battleship Hutton in 1942. While she was officially classified as a Mackensen-class battlecruiser, she was much larger than the others, and had more incommon with the Nassau-class battleship. Originally laid down during the war, work grinded to a halt as focus was put on U-boats and tanks. She would be launched in 1917, to make way for U-boats. After the wars end, she was originally deemed to be scrapped, but, after some minor prodding, she would be allowed to be completed under the same order that the Nassau-class and the other Mackensen-class ships would be completed. The Graf Spee was more similar to the Nassau then the Mackensen, using the same 16.5in guns as the Nassau. Her machinary essentially took the Nassaus engine rooms and doubled them, doubling the output over the Nassau. This led to a top speed of 34 knots. Background Much like the HMS Hood to the Queen Elizabeth-class, the Graf Spee was more of a stretched version of the Nassau-class battleship. The Graf Spee had the same 13.8in belt and other armoring scheme of the Nassau. In reality, the Graf Spee had next to nothing similar to the Mackensen-class, other then general purpose machinery found on all German warships at the time. Prior to the completeion of WW1, Krupp works had just started on production for turrets for the Württemberg, and the Graf Spee. Before the Armistice Commission came around to inspect the works, Krupp had secretly buried 4 completed twin 15" gun turrets that had been destined for the Württemberg, and 4 twin 16.5in guns that had been destined for the Graf Spee. After the Commission left, and after the tonnage for another large surface vessel was made availble, the turrets for the Graf Spee were made known to the German Admiralty. As such, work on the Graf Spee continued. Interwar Period Finally completed in 1927, she was the pride of the German Navy. During Hitler's campaign, Graf Spee would be the host to one of Hitlers speeches that would set the tone for the remilitarization of the Rhineland and the eventual naval expansion. During 1935, she would undergo a lengthy refit, which would see her AA complement modernized, and her bridge modernized. She would also be fitted with an Atlantic bow, much in line with the rest of the fleet such as the Scharnhorst-class. In late 1937, her double funnels were a constant sight in the North Sea, as Germany continued to aggressively impede on sovereign waters. During 1937, she would be present at the British Fleet review, where she would be moored next to the Japanese IJN Kii, as if a sign to come. WW2 During 1939, she was originally supposed to be dispatched to Poland on a goodwill trip, that would in reality be the opening site of WW2. However, last minute technical issues saw the much older Schleswig-Holstein battleship to be dispatched. In port during the opening month of WW2, she would be dispatched to Atlantic to hunt down any French warships. The Graf Spee was put to sea in time to sail to Denmark for the declaration of surrender to be signed on her deck. She would also be present at the surrender of Netherlands aswell, and the only ship tasked with chasing down the Utrecht. However, the Graf Spee's top speed being only 1 knot faster, and with an 8 hour headstart, Utrecht was able to reach Scapa Flow successfully. She would be dispatched again to try and chase it down after it left to leave for the East Indies, but again was unable to catch it before having to return for fuel. DIspatched to the Atlantic theater in 1940 for convoy raids, she would encounter the Toursville, which was actually returning from a trip to the French colonies in South America, they would engage in a duel that would see the Toursville sunk. North Atlantic Service Returning to combat in November 1940, she would be redeployed to the North Atlantic fleet with the Brandenburg. Here, she would spend much of 1940 and 1941, with the occasional midnight raid on British bound merchant convoys, that U-boats had reported as free of capital warships. Unknown to all parties, the Graf Spee would secretly use the Fjords of Greenland as a base of operations, with U-boats ferrying diesel fuel and food to the 2 strong fleet. However, U-boats were incapable of carrying larger machinery, so when Brandenburg needed new barrels for her guns, the two ships made the return trip to Germany. However, during the crossing of the Denmark Straight, the British submarine HMS Scorpion, managed to launch off a volley of torpedo that would strike the Brandenburg. The explosion managed to flood the engine compartment, leading to the Brandenburg being crippled. With the location reported, the British admiralty sent the HMS Queen Elizabeth, HMS Rodney, and HMS Thunderchild. Bombers from the Thunderchild managed to strike and eventually sink the crippled Brandenburg, while the Graf Spee came under heavy fire from the HMS Rodney and QE. Taking heavy fire, Graf Spee would be able to sink the QE. However, the much faster Graf Spee would be able to outrun the pursuing British, and return safely to Germany. After the declaration of war on the United States in December 1941, Graf Spee would be deployed to the North Sea once again to raid merchant convoys bound for Russia. In 1942, she would be accompany the Bismarck and Derfflinger's famous breakout voyage, where the small fleet would encounter the HMS Hood, HMS Tiger, and HMS Prince of Wales. Firing on the HMS Tiger, it is disputed whether the Bismarck of Graf Spee fired the final round that ended the Tiger. However, on the return trip to Germany, under attack from a large British-American fleet, the Graf Spee would take heavy damage from 3 torpedo hits, and a bomb hit that would destroy her radar and set fire to most of the superstructure. During 1939, a mechanical fault had seen the deck soaked in oil, and had soaked into the deck wood. After being ignited, the fire burned with a severe intensity that destroyed much of the center superstructure, and heavily damaged the two center most turrets. This led to the Graf Spee being essentially crippled from a relatively minor bomb hit. After the Bismarck's rudder was crippled, she was forced to return to Germany, while Moltke and Prinz Eugen remained to protect the ailing battleship. Undergoing a lengthy repair, the Graf Spee was refitted with new decking, a modernized fire suppression system, 3in of additional deck armor, and most importantly, rudders that could be blown off in case they were jammed. After this she would be deployed to the Mediterranean theater to help bolster Italian and Spanish naval forces, and deliver much needed reinforcements to the African Campaign. In particular however, she was flag ship of the siege of Malta, where she would fire off nearly all of her stores of ammunition at the small island. During this, she managed to sink the British HMS Ramillies at her mooring. However, after heavy allied bombardment, the dwindling of supplies, and the incoming British fleet, she would be forced to give up the assault. With the loss of Derfflinger and Bismarck, During 1943, she would be tasked alongside the Moltke to the Fjords of Norway as a fleet in being. During this time, the RAF would stage several attempts to cripple the battleships. During one of the final attacks, a Tallboy bomb, similar to the one used to sink the Ashitaki, would strike the Graf Spee. Never intended to be bombed, much less by a massive bomb that could cause local earthquakes, the Tallboy bomb managed to blow a 25m hole in the bottom of Graf Spee. Another Tallboy managed to strike Moltke's bow, from which she was able to recover. But the Graf Spee quickly capsized, and sunk. During 1944, she would be ever so slightly refloated, and moved to form a breakwater at the enterance of the Fjord, to which Tirptiz would be similarly sunk in 1947. Category:Kriegsmarine Category:Battlecruiser